Life as a single guy on the prowl - loving, leaving, seething with jealousy and committing for better or worst - unfolds on Seattle band Barcelona's recent "Melodrama" series of EPs, accompanied by the sparest and sleekest of pop beats. But beneath all those adult shenanigans, front man Brian Fennell freely admits, throbs the still-sensitive heart of an archetypal wimpy kid.

"The first day of middle school I got pantsed, all the way down while holding a tray in the cafeteria," the vocalist, 31, says today from Seattle, where he's indulging in some therapeutic housecleaning. "That was the kickoff to my middle school experience. I learned a lot about myself."

These days, that feeling applies when it comes to where Fennell, drummer Rhett Stonelake and keyboardist Branden Cate fit in an indie rock landscape that can get just as cliquey as junior high, especially now that the group has embraced a more R&B-flavored synth-pop sound with the arrival of the "Love You," "Love Me" and "Know Love" EPs. The recordings' dance-floor broods and between-the-sheets ruminations are worlds away from Northwestern post-punk, whether Barcelona is hurling through the suavely aerobic "Paper Lion," sauntering into the Timberlake/Timbaland-esque "Sick" or breaking out a heartthrob's sob story with "Last Night."

Fortunately Fennell has done some growing since his schoolyard days. "We gave up worrying about where we fit in the world," he explains, chuckling that fans have compared him to both George Michael and Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. "We'll never be indie darlings and never get written about in Pitchfork.

"It's like being the good-looking middle schooler: You're probably going to be screwed up in five years because you'll never live up to what got you in the spotlight," he continues. "If we're up and coming for the entirety of our careers and never break into a mammoth movement, I'm still fine with it. We're just allowing ourselves to change."

The irony hinges on the fact that, for Fennell, the EPs' songs began as a writing exercise - a break from the pressures of raising cash via Kickstarter and making and touring with Barcelona's sophomore full-length, "Not Quite Yours" - and ended up cutting close to the bone emotionally. "I Choose You," for instance, draws directly from the vocalist's wedding vows.

"People who are critical have said, 'Man, these songs are like bubblegum pop,' meaning they're watered down and with not much substance," observes Fennell. "I love our first album, but I can't remember who I was when I wrote it. It's like an adolescent compared to an adult, while I think the songs I've written mostly recently - they're definitely more playful, but they're honest."